


Multilingual

by Lady_of_Lorule



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Dick Grayson is Robin, Fluff, Friendship, Multilingual Character, Romani Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21579742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_of_Lorule/pseuds/Lady_of_Lorule
Summary: “How many languages do you speak?” Zatanna asked him curiously.“A lot,” he replied vaguely.The magician was not deterred by his laconic answer. “What was your first language?”“Not English.”...The team (especially Artemis) tries to figure out how many languages Robin can speak.
Relationships: Artemis Crock & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & The Team (Young Justice), Dick Grayson/Wally West, Kid Flash/Robin
Comments: 14
Kudos: 1870





	Multilingual

“Robin, bee, zero, one,” the automated voice announced as the Boy Wonder stepped through the zeta tube. He wore his usual relaxed attire of a hoodie and jeans, dark sunglasses blocking out his eyes.

“Hey, Rob!” Wally greeted, zooming into the room, skidding to a stop feet from the other boy, who took it in stride.

“Hey, Walls. Where is everyone?” He looked around the mission room, but there was no one there.

“M’gann is at cheer practice and Conner went with her. I think Aqualad is in Atlantis. But Zatanna and Artemis are in the lounge. I think they’re doing homework.” Wally made a face.

Robin laughed. “Not all of us can finish our homework in a minute, KF.”

He just shrugged and zoomed off. Robin tucked his hands into his pockets and walked through the labyrinthine halls of the Cave. He trailed his hand along the rough hewn walls until he emerged in the lounge and kitchen area. As promised, Zatanna and Artemis were there in their casual clothes, papers and textbooks strewn around them.

“I hate Spanish!” Artemis complained as he slipped inside. “Why are there so many conjugations?!”

“Hi, Robin,” Zatanna said with a smile.

“Hey, Z.”

“Help me!” the archer demanded, tossing her homework at the dark-haired girl.

She made eye-contact, lifting in eyebrow in amusement at Robin, who simply shrugged. Her problem. He kept moving towards the kitchen, hoping Wally hadn’t finished off M’gann’s latest batch of cookies yet. Zatanna picked up the paper and gave it a cursory look-over.

“I love you, but I don’t know Spanish either, Artemis. I can’t help you.”

“Ugh.” She flopped back against the couch dramatically. Robin sighed as he saw the plate covered in crumbs, but alas, no cookies. Damn, Wally.

“Hey, Boy Wonder, you speak a lot of languages, right?” Zatanna asked, twisting around on the couch to face him.

He smirked. “Maybe.”

“Any chance Spanish is on that list? Artemis’s teacher is on maternity leave, and they have a substitute, but the sub doesn’t speak Spanish, so she’s having a bit of...difficulty with the homework.”

“That’s terrible,” he said. Of course, he already knew that. But Artemis still didn’t know that they go to the same school, and he wasn’t about to clue her in on that. Not yet, anyways.

“Whatever. Can you help me or not?” the blonde demanded impatiently.

He shrugged. “Sure. I need to practice my Spanish anyways. It’s good to keep my skills sharp.”

“How many languages do you speak?” Zatanna asked him curiously.

“A lot,” he replied vaguely.

The magician was not deterred by his laconic answer. “What was your first language?”

“Not English.”

“Z, interrogate him later, but right now I really need to pass Spanish or my mom is going to kill me,” Artemis interrupted.

Zatanna still looked very curious, but she backed off, opening back open her history textbook. Artemis quickly realized that Robin was fluent in Spanish, and that his accent was perfect, despite whatever he had said about needing to practice. She wasn’t about the complain, but she came to realize she was also interested in the answers to Zatanna’s questions. Robin, however, seemed determined not to answer them anymore than he already had. As soon as he was done helping Artemis he bounded off the couch and away, with the vague mention of finding Wally.

“That was weird, even for Robin,” Artemis said once he’d fully left the room.

“Kind of. Maybe it’s one of those things Batman told him not to talk about?”

The archer’s brow furrowed in thought. “I guess. I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t want us to know how many languages he speaks. I mean, wouldn’t that be important information for us to know for missions?”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I love Robin, but I’ve seen him shower in his mask. He has weird hang-ups. This must be one of them. Now I know you still have an English essay to write. Stop stalling. The sooner you finish, the sooner we can go catch that new movie.”

…

“I hate my life!” Robin declared dramatically.

Kaldur, Artemis, and M’gann looked up as Robin and Wally walked into the room. The younger boy looked annoyed, his mouth twisted into a scowl, but the speedster looked like he was barely holding in his laughter. Neither of them seemed to have noticed their teammates in the kitchen yet.

“Dude, you’re overreacting,” Wally informed him, poking Robin in the ribs then running out of range of the attempted retaliation.

“I am not overreacting! I’m just… reacting!” he said defensively.

He snickered. “Right. That’s why you’re still complaining about this.”

“I’m just pissed!”

“What’s going on?” Kaldur interrupted, standing and crossing his arms to make his presence noted.

Robin mimicked his stance. “Nothing.”

“Rob’s teacher accused him of lying,” Wally explained at the same time. He turned back to Robin. “Which, y’know, you kind of are, dude.”

“Wow. Thanks for the sympathy, KF,” he replied dryly.

Kaldur, Artemis, and M’gann watched with stunned expressions as Robin threw himself down on the couch. Robin lied to a teacher? That seemed completely unlike him. Except with Batman, he was very respectful of adults. 

“Robin, you lied to one of your teachers?” M’gann asked, disbelief and confusion warring on her face.

“Yes, but not like how you’re thinking,” he said, stretched out on the couch with his arm tossed over his eyes.

“Then would you care to explain what Wally meant?” Kaldur asked.

“Fine, fine. It's really not a big deal. My school requires that every student takes a language course, but I already know every language they offer. So I’ve been taking French and pretending that I don’t know it, but I kind of slipped up today and now my teacher figured out that I’m fluent. She’s threatening to get me kicked out of her class. I’m going to have to start all over in ASL or Spanish, which will be annoying.”

M’gann frowned. “I don’t understand the problem. Isn’t it a good thing that you speak French fluently for your French class?”

He laughed bitterly. “I wish. My school requires that each student learn a _new_ language. If you already know all the languages they offer you’re supposed to take extra courses at a nearby college, but I _don’t_ have time for that.”

“I am sure this situation will work itself out,” Kaldur offered in reassurance.

“I know. I’m just going to have to be extra careful not to slip up again.”

Wally reappeared on the arm of the couch, a half eaten tub of ice cream in one hand, an ice cream scoop in the other. “It must be such a burden to be a genius.”

Robin made a rude gesture without moving. “Robin!” Kaldur scolded.

“So you know Spanish, French, and ASL?” Artemis asked, walking over to join in on the conversation. She’d been hoping to learn more about his talent for languages ever since he helped her with her Spanish homework. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.

“Yep.”

“How many others?” she pressed, ignoring his closed off expression. She’d never learn anything about her teammate if she didn’t push him. He was too good at being secretive.

Wally laughed. “Jesus, I don’t think he even knows.”

She turned her attention to the speedster reluctantly. “What are you talking about?”

“Rob has a talent for picking up languages. I’ve given up trying to keep track of how many he speaks, and then there are all the regional dialects.”

“I don’t know that many dialects,” Robin chimed in, peeking up at his best friend.

Wally tapped his nose with the ice cream scoop, causing the Boy Wonder to wrinkle his nose. “Most people don’t know any dialects, babe. Most people struggle to learn two languages.”

M’gann and Artemis looked at each other in surprise at the endearment. Since when did Wally call Robin ‘babe?’ And why did Robin seem completely unfazed by it? Both girls had noticed that the boys’ friendship could push the traditional boundaries of normal platonic relationships, but surely pet names crossed the line.

Robin got up abruptly. “I’m going to go hit stuff in the gym.”

Wally polished off his ice cream rapidly, then announced, “I’m going to try to keep him from breaking his hand.”

…

“Artemis, bee, zero, seven. Kid Flash, bee, zero, three,” the Cave announced as the two young superheroes emerged into the mission room.

Aqualad, Superboy, Robin, and Miss Martian were already waiting for them, all suited-up. They all had somber expressions that lightened slightly as their teammates returned unharmed. Robin smirked at Wally for a second before he schooled his features into a blank mask. Wally found it a little frightening that he could do that so convincingly.

“Artemis, Kid Flash, did you retrieve the files?” Kaldur asked, jumping straight into business.

“Right here,” Wally declared with a cocky grin, holding up a flash drive. “In and out, just like you said.”

“So there were no complications?”

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. _“Well…”_

“We don’t think the files are in English,” Artemis said, cutting off Wally. Her steady, gray-eyed gaze met Kaldur’s impassive face. “Pretty sure they’re in Italian. There wasn’t time to try and translate them. The next patrol was coming. We downloaded the files and snuck out of there before getting caught.”

“That was a smart decision,” Kaldur praised and the two relaxed.

They’d been sent on an independent mission as part of their training in covert tactics. Batman had decided that since they kept botching their intelligence gathering ops as a team, he would send them in small groups to practice. Robin had even been sent on solo tasks because he had more experience with sneaking around than his teammates.

“Robin, do you think you can translate the files?” Kaldur asked, turning to the youngest teammate. His cloak was covering his bright uniform, the dark of the cape contrasting with the confident grin he gave his leader.

“Sure, it should be easy.” Wally tossed him the stick. Robin plugged it into the holographic computer that was a part of his uniform. He laughed. “I’m running the translation program, but I can tell you what it says without it. This is a list of all the locations where they’re storing the drugs, _plus_ shipping routes. This is a jackpot.”

“Are you sure?” Miss Martian asked, hovering slightly.

“Positive.”

“Since when do you speak Italian?” Artemis demanded.

Robin shrugged. “I’ve known it since I was a kid.”

“You’re still a kid, buddy,” Wally reminded him, resting his arm on Robin’s shoulder.

He ducked out of Wally’s reach. “Says _Kid_ Flash.”

“Robin, as soon as the files are translated send them to Batman,” Kaldur ordered, reigning in the team. “Superboy, I want you to take the Supercycle to the other location Batman requested we retrieve information from. Bring Miss Martian.”

“We’ll check in once we’re in position,” Conner promised.

M’gann gave Artemis a quick hug, then flew over to the zeta tubes. The automated voice announced, “Superboy, bee, zero, four. Miss Martian, bee, zero, five.”

They disappeared in a flash of light.

“I will wait here for their return,” Kaldur said. “Artemis, Kid, go rest. You did well.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Artemis said, rolling her shoulders. “I’m going to go take a _long_ nap.”

Wally looked over at Robin expectantly. He shook his head. “Sorry. I need to work on these files.”

“Right. I’m going to try and find some food.”

Wally and Artemis left, leaving Kaldur and Robin alone. For a few minutes they worked in silence, the kind of silence that comes from knowing each other so well that verbal communication isn’t necessary.

“How long have you and Wally been dating?” Kaldur asked out of the blue.

Robin lost his composure, spinning around and blurting out, “What?”

The Atlantean just smiled. “I have known you both for a while now. I can’t say I’m surprised to see the change in your relationship. I am merely curious.”

“R-right,” he stammered, then sucked in a deep breath. Kaldur allowed him a moment to settle himself. “What tipped you off?”

“Nothing overt,” Kaldur assured him. “I do not think our teammates know, if that is what worries you.”

“I don’t really know. Wally and I haven’t really talked about telling everyone. We’ve only really been together less than a month.”

The older teen nodded in understanding. “And I will not tell them. But I suggest you share with them. I don’t think they would enjoy being kept in the dark. Particularly Artemis.”

“I’ll talk to Wally.”

…

“Where is he?!” Wally yelled.

“Whoa, calm down,” Conner said, grabbing his shoulders to hold him in place. “He’s in bad shape and you need to stay focused.”

“Where. Is. He?” he repeated in a low growl.

“Superboy, let him through,” Miss Martian ordered. Conner stepped aside and Wally zoomed to the Martian’s side, staggering to a stop as his eyes landed on Robin.

He was sprawled out on the ground, his head resting on M’gann’s lap. His leg was at an awkward angle and there was a staggering amount of blood coating his uniform. It couldn’t possibly all be his, especially since his eyes were still open beneath his mask. But some it must be, because of the sharp hitch of his breath. Zatanna was kneeling next to him, hands hovering over his body and glowing. She was mumbling in her strange backwards speak, but from the look on frustration on her face she wasn’t having much success.

“Rob, can you hear me?” Wally asked, dropping to his knees, reaching out to touch him, then thinking better of it.

Robin’s lips moved, but he barely made a sound. M’gann’s brow knit. “He’s not doing well. We need to get him back to the medical bay, but we can’t tell where he’s bleeding. Can you get him back to the Cave without jostling him too much?”

“What about the Bioship?” Wally asked automatically. Half his brain was paying attention to M’gann, the other half was focused on Robin.

“Might take too long. We don’t know how severe the injury is. I don’t want to risk it. Can you do it?”

Robin gasped, diverting both of their attention. He said something, sound coming out, but still completely incomprehensible.

“What’s he saying?” Zatanna asked, the glow of her hands fading.

“Its Romani,” Wally responded numbly. He recognized the language from the one time he’d convinced Dick to speak his mother tongue to him.

“Do you understand him?” Conner asked. Wally shook his head. He wanted to learn, but he wasn’t as adept at picking up languages as Robin was.

“It doesn’t matter. Wally, take him,” Miss Martian ordered, levitating Robin up.

Wally gathered his teammate, his best friend, his boyfriend, into his arms and sped off without another word.

Everything flickered by in a blur. His body worked on autopilot, running as fast as he safely could with his precious cargo, picking out the smoothest paths. Every labored breath that ghosted his face was a blessing, a reminder that there was still time, still a chance.

He couldn’t say how long it took him to reach the Cave. He headed straight for the Medbay, where doctors, Batman, and Black Canary were already waiting for him. Someone must have warned them of Robin’s condition. The second Wally came to a stop Batman lifted Robin out of his arms and swept away. Wally lifted a foot slowly, intending to follow, but hand caught his arm.

“Wally. Come sit and eat. The doctors will take care of Robin. You don’t want to get in their way.”

“I don’t want to leave him,” Wally said. His mouth felt detached from his mind. His head couldn’t process anything but the bone deep weariness that was settling over every inch of his body.

“I know, but you need to take care of yourself or you’ll do Robin no good.”

Black Canary always knew exactly what to say to get people to fall in line. Wally allowed her to maneuver him into a chair that faced the door Batman had brought Dick through, then shoved a bar into his hand. He ate it automatically, the taste not even registering. Then he sat back and stared at the door. And waited.

Time passed. The team all showed up. Kaldur and Black Canary began talking. He kept his eyes trained on the door.

_Wally,_ M’gann’s gentle voice said in his head. _Are you okay?_

_Fine,_ he assured her on reflex.

_Robin will be okay. Why don’t you come change your clothes and shower?_

_No. I need to be here when he wakes up._

Her soothing presence ebbed away. He heard the team conversing, but the words didn’t compute. Eventually Conner settled into a seat in the corner and the rest of the team left. And Wally kept staring at the door.

Suddenly it opened, and Batman stood before him in all his terrifying stature.

“What happened?”

Wally stared at him dumbly. Conner chimed in when it became clear that Wally was, for once, speechless. “Robin went ahead to hack into the mainframe,” Superboy explained. “M’gann had set up a mindlink. We could tell Robin was fighting someone, but he kept assuring us he had it handled. We proceeded with our part of the mission. Kaldur was with Bioship, Kid Flash had perimeter duties, while Miss Martian, Zatanna, and I worked our way through the compound. My group was supposed to rendezvous with Robin. We got ambushed on the way, which is when Robin requested back-up. We got there in time to stop one of the enemies from shooting him. It was clear his leg had been broken, and we could tell he suffered from some other injury, but he was covered in blood. He was awake, but not alert. That’s why we had Wally run him back.

“From what we could tell, Robin had been ambushed by two dozen heavily armed fighters in an enclosed space. He’d dispatched all of them but three by the time we arrived, but judging by the violent injuries on some of them, I believe he’d been injured early in the fight and had to resort to desperate measures to hold out until we arrived.”

Black Canary paid rapt attention to Conner’s report, but kept silent. Batman didn’t say anything, either. Wally desperately wished he could read Batman’s expression under the cowl the way Robin seemed to be able to. He wanted to be able to glean something, _anything_ about his best friend’s condition.

“Robin has been treated. You may wait inside his room now.”

Batman turned and strode straight back in. Wally didn’t hesitate to follow, with Conner close behind.

Robin was stretched out on a hospital gurney, his leg wrapped in a large cast and his bare torso criss-crossed with bandages. Another large strip of gauze was on his forehead. But the machines showed that he was stable, and Wally nearly collapsed in relief. That was all that really mattered.

“What’d the doctors say?” Black Canary asked Batman, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Broken leg, concussion, and a stab wound to the abdomen. No major arteries or organs were affected. He should make a full recovery, granted there are no complications.”

His tone didn’t change, and the cowl stayed firmly in place, but Wally heard the grateful undercurrent to his words. After all, Wally had nearly lost his best friend, but Bruce had nearly lost his son.

Batman sat down in the corner, half in shadow. Black Canary stayed only a moment longer before leaving to go check on the rest of the team and update them. Wally and Conner claimed the chairs on either side of Robin. Wally almost started laughing when he noticed that his mask was still firmly in place. Of course. Not even a near death experience could make the Bats risk their secret identities.

The room was eerily silent. Wally might have been tempted to try and alleviate the tense aura of the room if his companions weren’t Batman and Superboy. The two broodiest heroes to ever exist. So he settled for sitting next to Robin, watching the reassuring rise and fall of his chest, and tapping his leg so fast it began to blur.

M’gann drifted into the room some time later, her red hair loose and damp from the shower. She must have had a mental conversation with Conner because he left without a word and she filled in his seat. Wally looked at her briefly before returning his attention to Robin, who was still and much too pale, but breathing.

They all froze when Robin suddenly began to writhe, half-broken sounds falling out of his lips.

Batman was at his partner’s side in a second, holding down his shoulder gently to keep him from harming himself. Wally could tell Robin’s eyes were still closed beneath the mask. Probably a nightmare, but Robin had always been a restless sleeper.

“He’s talking in Romani again,” Wally said, speaking without conscious thought.

“Again?” Batman asked, turning his stern gaze on the speedster.

He swallowed. “Uh, yeah. Before I ran him over, he was mumbling something in Romani. I recognize the language, but I don’t understand it. Do you?”

“A few phrases. Not enough.”

“Uh, I can help,” M’gann chipped in, her shoulders curled in, but her gaze steady. Batman examined her for a moment, then nodded. She sucked in a deep breath, her eyes flashed, and all of a sudden they understood Robin’s broken murmurs.

“Don’t— don’t go,” the boy mumbled. “Stop... _stop,_ make it… Dad?” Wally watched as Bruce’s grip tightened on Robin’s shoulder. “Saw them fall...John, let me come… they keep falling. Make— make it stop, please...”

Wally jolted like he’d been electrocuted. M’gann grabbed his shoulder, looking at him searchingly. He knew the broken words meant nothing to her, but Dick had told him just enough about his childhood to know what he was dreaming about. He didn’t know who John was, but he knew that Dick hadn’t been calling out for Bruce.

“Can we wake him up?” Wally asked, desperate to pull his boyfriend out of the nightmare he seemed trapped in, but he knew that might be dangerous.

“No.” Bruce tampered with one of the tubes attached to Robin and slowly the boy stilled. “That will keep him out for at least another two hours. Go rest.”

“But—”

“Go rest. I’ll stay and take care of him.”

Wally shut his mouth. He knew he wasn’t going to win a fight with Batman no matter how hard he tried. And know that he knew Robin was okay, and that he wouldn’t wake up for a while, Wally realized that he was tired, and hungry, and dirty.

He trudged out of the room, casting one last glance at Robin, peaceful but for the drops of sweat that hadn’t quite evaporated yet.

…

“Wally, as much as I love having you around, don’t you have,” Dick waved an arm, “I don’t know, homework or something that you need to go do?”

The speedster shrugged. “I can afford to skip an assignment.”

“Aren’t your parents worried about you?”

“I told them I was spending a week with Aunt I and Uncle Barry.”

“Fine, aren’t your aunt and uncle worried about you?”

“No, they know I’m here.” Wally frowned at his boyfriend. “Dude, what’s up with all the questions?”

“I’m worried about you! You’ve been at my side twenty-four seven since I was injured!” Dick blurted out, gesturing wildly with his hands. “Honestly, it’s getting a little creepy. All you do is watch me. Just tell me what’s going on with you, please?”

At first Dick had loved having his boyfriend around while he recovered from his substantial injuries from the team’s last mission. Usually recovery time was boring, just laying in bed and letting Alfred pamper him, and no school because it would be suspicious for Bruce Wayne’s ward to be so beat up. But Wally’s presence had quickly become stifling. The speedster was always watching him carefully, checking on his bandages, and making sure he ate all his food. Dick liked to be pampered, but Bruce, Alfred, _and_ Wally doing it was overbearing.

“Dick…,” Wally said pleadingly.

“Walls, I’m not mad or anything. Just talk to me. You’re acting weird.”

“Because I almost watched you _die,_ Dick!” he exploded, pulling at his hair. “I almost watched you die, and I’m going to be honest, I’m still pretty freaked out, but you seem perfectly fine and I’m confused!”

“Oh,” he murmured.

Wally dropped his head into his hands. “Yeah. ‘Oh.’”

Dick probably should have guessed that's what was bothering his boyfriend. It was the obvious answer, considering he had very nearly bled out in Wally’s arms on the way to the Cave. But for some reason he had assumed that since the danger had passed, so had the trauma. Not everyone was trained like he was, to keep moving forward no matter what happens.

So he scooted across his large bed to Wally and placed a gentle hand on his stiff back.

“Walls,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were still freaked out. But I’m _fine.”_

“I know. But I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened if the team didn’t get to you as fast as they had, or if I hadn’t gotten you to the Cave in time, or if something went wrong while they were patching you up… How are you okay? You’re the one who nearly died.”

“Training.”

Wally huffed. “Right. Bats have no emotions.”

Dick grabbed his shoulder and spun him around so they were face-to-face. “I’m being serious. Bruce trained me to keep my head when everything goes to shit. I’ve been in some situations where it's the only thing that has kept me alive and kept me going. That’s why...during the simulation—” Wally shuddered at the mere mention, but Dick plowed on— “that’s why I was able to take command so easily. Or when Artemis and I had to fight off the Reds in the Cave alone, it was training that kept me calm enough to make a plan. I’m not freaking out because I’ve learned how _not_ to. Yes, I had a close call, but you saved me. _You,_ Wally West. That’s all that I care about.”

“You are not human.”

A smile crossed Dick’s face. “My ribs beg to differ.”

A matching smile spread across the speedster’s face. “How dare you make me laugh when I’m trying to have a serious discussion about mortality.”

“Well,” Dick said with a raised eyebrow and a devious glint in his eyes, “if you’re so worried about mortality, I can think of some better ways to spend our time.” Then his hands moved to cup Wally’s face and he shifted so that he was straddling his lap. The redhead’s hands landed on his narrow hips, staring up into his blue eyes. Dick murmured something in Romani that he didn’t recognize.

“What did you just say?” Wally asked a bit breathlessly as Dick pressed a rough kiss to his lips.

“An endearment,” he explained, pulling back briefly. A shy look flickered over his features. “My, uh, dad used to call my mom it. Is— is that okay?”

Wally’s heart swelled. He flipped their position in the blink of an eye so that he was above Robin, the younger’s hands roaming across his chest. “That is _really_ okay.”

Then he ducked his head back down and no words were exchanged for a while.

…

Artemis froze upon entering the Cave, her nose wrinkling. “I thought you guys were sappy and annoying when you were just friends. I can’t believe you’re even more annoying as a couple.”

Wally set Robin back on the ground from where he’d been pinned against the wall. The dark-haired boy looked annoyed, but that wasn’t too surprisingly considering his make-out session had been cut short. Artemis felt absolutely no remorse. Conner and M’gann at least had the courtesy to make-out in their rooms or in the garage. Boy Blunder and Kid Idiot had been cozying up to each other _everywhere_ since officially coming out as a couple to the team.

“Hey, Artemis!” Wally said cheerfully, a love-struck look on his face. She fought back a grin. “What are you doing here?”

“Um, I’m part of the team, just like you two? And we have training?”

“Oh, right.”

She rolled her eyes. “As you were, boys. I’m going to go hang out with Z before training starts.”

Wally and Dick went back to enthusiastically sucking face. God, they were unbearable, but they were also a really cute couple. They were always holding hands or sitting on each other. Wally always fretted over Robin when the bird got injured on missions, and Robin conversely made it his mission in life to stop Wally from consuming junk food twenty-four/seven. Which was also how the team found out that Robin was a pretty good cook, especially when it came to finding healthy recipes.

Her thoughts drifted to wondering if she could convince him to make his lasagna again when the alarm called them all to the mission room. She huffed, changing as quick as she could and then joining her team. Everyone was there, including Wally and Robin. All evidence of their make-out session had vanished, replaced by serious faces and bright costumes.

“As some of you know, the Justice League undertook an operation to infiltrate a suspected League of Assassins base,” Kaldur began as Conner and M’gann filed into the room. Artemis frowned. She had _not_ known that. “The plan was successful. Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman are inside currently, finishing off the dismantlement of the base. I just received files from Batman and orders to look over them for the League.”

Robin pulled the screens to himself, his cocky grin firmly in place. “Leave that bit to me.”

His fingers flew across the holographic keyboards. It was always awe-inspiring to watch Robin hack something. He did it with such ferocity and efficiency, yet humor. His laughing face icon danced across the screens, flashing green as he punched through the defenses. It only took him a minute to open up the files.

Which led to the next problem. Wally groaned. “Man. Why is it that the bad guys never store their files in English?”

“Don’t worry, KF. It’s just Russian.”

Now it was Artemis’s turn to sigh. “Let me guess. You know Russian.”

“Bingo. I’ll run a translation program for the rest of you. Even I can’t go through all of this by myself.” He punched in a few more keys then grinned at the rest of them. “There we go. It’ll take about an hour to decrypt everything.”

A red icon flashed on the screen, but the Boy Wonder didn’t see it with his back turned around.

“Um, babe? I think there’s a problem,” Wally said, wincing.

Robin whirled around and swore in a steady stream of foreign words. “Ra’s. I can’t translate any of these files because they’re all in code. I’m going to have to break the code and _then_ translate.”

“Can you do that?” Kaldur asked, eyes narrowed in consideration.

“Can I decode secret files that are in Russian without knowing anything about what code is being used and whether or not attempting to decrypt it could compromise our location or systems?” Robin snapped, raking a hand through his hair. “Yes. I can. I just _really_ wish I were a little more brushed up on my Russian. It's been awhile since I had to speak it regularly.”

“We will give you space to work,” Kaldur said and the team began filing away on cue. “Alert us when you are successful.”

He nodded, his attention already on the files. His fingers flew and his masked eyes darted about. Artemis had a feeling he would be stuck like that for a while, so she felt no guilt following everyone else into the lounge area, flipping off her mask. It didn’t look like they’d be going out after all.

“I’m getting jealous of how many languages Robin can speak,” Zatanna said, plopping onto the couch. “I can’t even learn high school Spanish.”

Artemis rolled her eyes and joined her friend. “I know. He doesn’t even have to try in his classes, while I’m slogging through preterite tenses. M’gann, aren’t you jealous?”

The Martian shrugged. “Not really. If I want to communicate with someone who speaks another language, I can just do it telepathically.”

“Fine. Wally. Please tell me you’re jealous of your boyfriend’s insane language skills,” she tried.

“Not really. That’s just Rob. He soaks languages up like a sponge. I think it’s pretty cool.”

“Has he told you how many languages he speaks?”

“Like I told you guys before, I’m not even sure Rob knows.”

Zatanna leaned forward. “Where did he learn them all? Does he have a tutor or something, because I could really use one if it means I’ll be multilingual.”

Wally shifted. He looked like he wanted to run away to avoid the conversation, the same way he always looked when they started prying into Robin’s abilities. Artemis was determined to get some answers though. How personal could multilingualism be?

“No, he doesn’t have a tutor. He just picks them up.”

“Where? Not a lot of people speak Romani, especially in Gotham,” Artemis pointed out.

“He… traveled a lot. As a kid. That’s all I’m saying, and you shouldn’t bother Robin about it either. He’ll tell you guys about it when he’s ready.” With that, Wally ran off in a yellow blur.

Artemis flopped back. “Why are Bats so frustrating? I literally just want to know how many languages he speaks, and instead I’m getting cryptic answers and vague allusions to his childhood.”

“Then maybe you should let Robin be,” M’gann suggested.

“Hell no. I’m committed now.”

…

“I could kill you,” Artemis snapped.

Dick Grayson beamed at her. “Now why would you want to do such a thing?”

“Because you’ve been going to my school for years and didn’t tell me!”

“If anything, you’ve been going to _my_ school.”

She glared at him, but it had no effect on the dark haired teen. Richard Grayson, adopted son of billionaire Bruce Wayne, heartthrob of Gotham Academy, the school they both went to, who was also somehow Robin, her teammate of more than a year. He had just told the team his identity last night, and now here he was Monday morning at school acting like they were friends. Which, she supposed they were. It was still incredibly strange to look at Dick Grayson with his neat uniform and slicked hair and connect him to Robin, messy haired Boy Wonder.

“Is this going to be a thing now?” she asked instead of indulging him.

He raised an eyebrow in a pure Robin manner. “Is ‘what’ going to be a thing now?”

“This.” She gestured between them. “Hanging out at school.”

He cocked his head. “Not if you don’t want it to be. I’m not Wally, I can respect personal boundaries.”

She sighed. “Its fine, I guess. Though if anyone starts thinking we’re dating I’ll punch them.”

He laughed, and it was such an odd sound to hear from his lips. Nothing at all like his Robin-cackle that she’d come to like. This was deeper and shorter, more befitting a person of his class.

“How do you do that?” she asked without thinking.

His laughter subsided and he looked at her curiously. “Huh?”

“Even your laugh is different. I thought it was weird that I wouldn’t recognize you if you’ve been going to my school this whole time, but it’s like you’re a whole different person,” she explained, gauging his reaction. His face stayed neutral. “You have a different accent, you dress different, you style your hair different, even your laugh is different. How can you do that all the time? Separate yourself into two?”

“After a while, I’ve kind of gotten used to it.” He didn’t quite look at her. “I came from a family of performers, I told you that.” He had. In addition to sharing his identity, he’d also told them about his childhood in the circus, and about his parents. Artemis grew sad just thinking about everything he’d suffered through. “When Bruce adopted me, I spoke half a dozen languages, the least familiar of which was English. Luckily, I pick up languages fast; it was a necessary skill when you grew up touring the world. It didn’t take long before Bruce decided I was ready to go to school.”

He sighed. “It was bad enough that everyone thought I was a charity case or a publicity stunt, but I showed up with the thickest accent possible and a tenuous grasp on English. I got bullied. A lot. But I didn’t want to worry Bruce about it, so I forced myself to get rid of my accent. I thought of it like putting on a show. I started only talking in an accent at home and in a Gotham accent at school. Then I became Robin, and it seemed natural to differentiate my hero persona from my civilian persona as much as possible, so I learned how to do a typical American accent. Now I just switch between them as needed.”

“That sounds… exhausting.”

He grinned at her. “Maybe, but it is a handy ability.”

She made a noncommittal sound. Then another thing that had been bugging her for months jumped to mind. “That’s the reason you speak so many languages. Because of the circus.”

“Bingo.”

“So what _was_ your first language?”

A sad smile crossed his face. “Romani. Both my parents spoke to me in it. They wanted it to be my first language.”

Well, that explained why he’d started speaking it when he’d been injured a few weeks ago. She had a few more things she wanted cleared up though. “How many languages do you speak?”

“Twelve. And a few dialects.”

“I can’t believe it took me nearly a year to get you to answer that question.”


End file.
